I am just floored that out of all the fabulous, creative, beautiful quilts entered, my little quilt placed. Even third place had the most amazing prize package—100 spools of Gutterman cotton thread in every color of the rainbow, a Sidewinder bobbin winder from Simplicity, two fat-quarter bundles from Robert Kaufman, batting from Fairfield, and rulers and a book from Darlene Zimmerman. And my quilt will be displayed in the Simplicity booth at Fall Quilt Market. Wow!!

I love designing and sewing quilts. I would do it even if this blog didn’t exist, and even if I didn’t have these amazing opportunities to see my quilts published or be selected for awards. Most of the time I feel like I just lucked into all of this. I mean, take a look at Pinterest or the Fresh Modern Quilts Flickr group—there are so many talented people out there, making some incredible quilts. The fact that my quilts have been singled out for some of these honors feels like it’s due as much to happenstance as anything else. I was just in the right place at the right time. Or maybe my blog was. : )

But at the same time, I know I’ve worked hard on my quilts and on this blog, occasionally wondering why exactly I put all this time and effort in. I’ve stayed up until the wee hours of the morning sewing and blogging, because that midnight-to-2-a.m. slot was the only time I had that day to get anything done. Then things like this come along to make me feel like that time and effort was well-spent. So thank you, Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild, the EZ Dresden Challenge judges, and the sponsors. You made my week!

Thank you for sharing your beautiful work, which is eye-candy for my soul. I have almost finished my first quilt ever, but there are many ideas floating around my brain – I go to sleep each night thinking of fabric and colour! Thank you for adding to these ideas. Your success is DESERVED, however humble you may feel. Congratulations,Catherine, Melbourne, Australia.